Tag: simeon barrow

What Jacobian Guillory’s injury means for the LSU defense

LSU football will be without DT Jacobian Guillory for the rest of the year. What does that mean for the Tigers defense?

LSU’s defense took a massive hit with the announcement that defensive tackle [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] would miss the entire season with a torn Achilles. Guillory, a fifth-year senior, was one of the only returning players with experience on the defensive line.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and staff spent much of the offseason shopping around the transfer portal for impact defensive tackles. The Tigers came up short for the services of highly touted transfers [autotag]Domanic Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Simeon Barrow[/autotag], but LSU managed to land [autotag]Gio Paez[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay’Viar Suggs[/autotag].

Paez and Suggs brought much-needed experience and offered a significant boost to LSU’s depth up front. Paez ended up winning a starting job next to Guillory. Now, with Guillory’s injury, Suggs joins Paez on the first line.

This area was a concern for LSU entering the year. Even with Guillory, Paez and Suggs aren’t proven at an SEC level. Paez was a rotational player at Wisconsin while Suggs is moving up from the Division II level.

Paez and Suggs are now positioned to be the focal points of LSU’s defensive line. It’s hard to read much into what we saw against Nicholls State, but Kelly was impressed by the defensive tackles in the USC contest. Paez and Suggs weren’t disruptors, but they avoided huge mistakes and didn’t get pushed around by a good USC offensive line.

Still, Guillory was LSU’s best defensive tackle by a decent margin. He was a blue-chip recruit with significant SEC experience. He’s proven as an interior pass rusher and a guy who can plug the run. After an offseason with [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag], he was primed for a career year.

That’s hard to replace.

As LSU’s SEC schedule gets underway, the Tigers will face some of the best offensive lines in the country. Most OL’s LSU sees will have a better overall talent level than LSU’s interior defensive line.

The Tigers have some promising freshmen at this spot. But they’re just that — freshman.

[autotag]Ahmad Breaux[/autotag] has already played 30 snaps, which comes as no surprise after Kelly said he was one of LSU’s most ready freshmen, physically and mentally.

If Breaux is ahead of schedule and Paez and Suggs hold their own, LSU will be fine. There will be some rough games, sure. But LSU can live with that trio.

That’s counting on a lot to go right, though. Breaux will have some growing pains and Suggs’ transition from D-II to the SEC won’t be seamless.

LSU will get another test this Saturday when it travels to South Carolina, but that’s just the start of a schedule that won’t offer many breaks.

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LSU continues rebuild of defensive tackle room with 2 commits

LSU’s two newest additions on the defensive line are two more steps in the right direction.

When LSU hired [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] in January, I wrote about just how massive the addition was. It’s rare that a position coach can completely move the needle for a program, but that’s what Davis did at Texas.

Davis provided the Longhorns with the best interior defensive line in the country, headlined by T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II. According to PFF, the duo were the top two graded defensive tackles in the country. After working with Davis, both went on to be NFL draft picks.

Sweat and Murphy were both highly touted recruits, but neither was the slam-dunk prospect that some five stars are. Per 247Sports, Sweat was a three-star and the No. 27 ranked DT in his class. Murphy was a four-star but sat outside the top 250.

On July 4, Davis and LSU landed two DT prospects that fit similar criteria. Two composite four-stars in [autotag]Brandon Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Zion Williams[/autotag]. Brown ranks as the No. 324 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Williams isn’t that far behind, sitting at No. 298.

They are the first two defensive tackle commits in LSU’s 2025 recruiting class which is sorely in need of interior defensive linemen. That’s why Davis was brought to LSU, to address that need at defensive tackle. Brown and Williams are the first steps to getting this room where it needs to be.

LSU hit the transfer portal to add depth for the upcoming year. The Tigers missed on top targets like [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Simeon Barrow[/autotag] but added [autotag]Jay’Viar Suggs[/autotag] and [autotag]Gio Paez[/autotag]. The top piece is rising fifth-year senior [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag], but he’ll be off to the league after this year.

The Tigers have some prospects in the pipeline with [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag], [autotag]De’Myrion Johnson[/autotag], and Ahmad Breaux, but you need to stack classes to get the needed depth.

A dominant interior defensive line can change the outlook for a defense. LSU thought they had that heading into 2023 with [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag] and Mekhi Wingo, but poor defensive coaching mitigated that.

LSU got here because the defensive line coaching position has been a volatile spot for the Tigers. Just when LSU thought it had stability with [autotag]Jamar Cain[/autotag], he took an NFL job with the Broncos. It’s hard to find consistency and build relationships in recruiting when there’s a new face coaching the room every year.

LSU paid a heavy price for Davis, a former LSU defensive lineman in his own right. They’re hoping this is more than just a one-year thing. Davis has coached at LSU before, he was a part of national titles at Alabama and helped lead Texas to the playoff in 2023. The goal is for Davis to stick around and build something.

We’ve seen the job [autotag]Brad Davis[/autotag] has done with the offensive line. He took a mediocre unit and built it into one of the best offensive lines in the country. If Bo Davis can have a similar impact on the defensive line, LSU will be competing for SEC titles year after year.

The skill positions will never be much of a question. Louisiana has a way of producing elite receivers and running backs. Quarterback isn’t an issue that plagues the program anymore either.

Defensive tackle is, by far, LSU’s biggest question mark entering the year. It’s the one thing holding LSU back. With additions like Brown and Williams, that’s on its way to being fixed.

There’s a strong defensive tackle group within the state in 2026. That gives Davis and company the chance to keep up the momentum.

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Former Michigan State football DT Simeon Barrow staying at Miami

Former Michigan State football DT Simeon Barrow staying at Miami

After some recent speculation was floating around about former Michigan State football captain and defensive tackle Simeon Barrow jumping from Miami, where he committed this spring, over to Missouri, Barrow put those rumors to rest on Thursday, affirming his commitment to the Hurricanes on social media.

You can see his statement below:

LOOK: MSU FOOTBALL SPRING TRANSFER TRACKER

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Former Michigan State football DT Simeon Barrow rumored to be jumping to another team

Simeon Barrow left MSU for Miami, but is rumored to be jumping to another team

Former Michigan State football captain and defensive tackle broke a lot of hearts when he opted to transfer out of East Lansing for Miami this offseason.

But, it seems like that trip to Florida will be short-lived, as 247Sports has reported that Barrow and Miami are on the rocks, with rumors that Barrow may jump ship to Missouri now.

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Former Michigan State football DL Simeon Barrow Jr. commits to Miami

Former Michigan State football DL Simeon Barrow Jr. commits to Miami

A few hours after one Michigan State football defensive lineman, Derrick Harmon, committed to Oregon, another former MSU defensive tackle, Simeon Barrow Jr., committed to Miami.

Barrow had 36 tackles and 3.5 sacks last year for the Spartans and was considered to be one of the Spartans’ best chances to have a player selected next year in the NFL draft.

LOOK: MSU FOOTBALL SPRING TRANSFER TRACKER

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Three teams considered in “the mix” for MSU transfer DL Simeon Barrow

There are reportedly three teams “in the mix” for Michigan State transfer defensive lineman Simeon Barrow

There are reportedly three teams “in the mix” for Michigan State transfer defensive lineman Simeon Barrow.

LSU, Miami (FL) and Missouri are all reportedly in the mix for Barrow, according to On3. Barrow is considered one of the top remaining defensive lineman prospects in the spring transfer portal.

Barrow entered the portal last week and has received a ton of interest from numerous big-time programs since then. Barrow has recorded 110 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks in his time as a Spartan.

Click on the link below to read more on Barrow’s potential new home:

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Simeon Barrow and Damonic Williams offer LSU chance to rebuild defensive line

A couple of big name transfers could allow LSU to rebuild its defensive tackle room.

The spring portal window is open and one position is in especially high demand — defensive tackle. LSU head coach Brian Kelly even went so far as to say this is the only position LSU is looking to add.

Just a few days in, the Tigers already have a couple of key visits lined up. LSU will be hosting [autotag]Simeon Barrow Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] in the near future with the hopes of landing a defensive tackle that can make an immediate impact.

Following the spring game, Kelly credited defensive line coach Bo Davis with bringing a different level of talent to campus. We’re seeing more evidence of that here even if there’s a way to go in both players’ recruitments.

As it stands, LSU has one proven player at defensive tackle in fifth-year DL [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag]. The Tigers need help there is this defense wants to take a step forward.

With Barrow and Williams, LSU has the chance to add an instant upgrade to its defensive tackle group. Relying on the portal is a tricky way to build a team, but LSU’s gotten lucky with some difference makers on the DL entering their names.

It will be tough for LSU to land both of these players, and fans shouldn’t expect that, but even one would go a long way toward shoring up the middle of this defense. Depth would remain a concern, but a starting two of Guillory and Barrow or Guillory and Williams will do the job.

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MSU DL Simeon Barrow reportedly again enters transfer portal

Michigan State defensive lineman Simeon Barrow has reportedly entered the transfer portal

For the fourth time, Michigan State defensive lineman Simeon Barrow has reportedly entered the transfer portal.

Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported on Thursday morning that Barrow has once again entered the transfer portal. This is the fourth time Barrow has entered the transfer portal, with a return to Michigan State occurring in each of his three previous entries.

Barrow has started 30 games for the Spartans in his career and recorded 110 tackles, with 18.5 for loss and 10.5 sacks. He’s also forced two fumbles in his career.

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Most intriguing transfer portal options at defensive tackle

Most intriguing transfer portal options at defensive tackle #GoBucks

We already broke down our expectations for how Ohio State could handle the quarterback position (which it has handled) and then dove into the possible running backs (which it has also handled). We also recently covered the wide receiver position (if things break a certain way), tight ends, and offensive tackle, guards, and of course, the center position that was also already addressed by the staff. But now, we have also moved onto the defensive side of the ball and hit on the defensive ends and we want to now dive into the interior at defensive tackle.

Again, as we have been saying, we are pretty late into the portal game, but I wanted to highlight some guys that would have been interesting fits for Ohio State and a few that may still be available. The big takeaway on this list is that the Michigan State Spartans are making moves to keep some of their best studs, but let’s dive into the list.

Michigan State football DT Simeon Barrow withdraws name from NCAA transfer portal

Simeon Barrow withdraws name from transfer portal

Michigan State football got some much-needed good news on Thursday night, when Simeon Barrow, a leader and almost weekly captain of the defense, withdrew his name from the NCAA transfer portal.

Barrow had entered his name into the portal on Tuesday.

This was a big loss for the Spartans and now a big return as the team heads into a game against Minnesota that they desperately need to win to end a long losing streak.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.